Portable audio devices include AM and FM radios, audio tape players, and digital audio players such as iPod and MP3 players. The audio devices are usually transported by carrying in the hand or in a pocket, or attaching them to a belt, or by strapping them to the arm.
Many users prefer an audio device with a plug-in jack attached to an electrical cord running to ear buds. Where the audio device is equipped for stereo sound, one earphone and one branch segment of the connection cord is used for each stereo track, and merge at a junction into a common twin wired segment connected to a stereo plug-in jack.
The presence of the electrical cord is a great annoyance, because movement of the head with respect to the body of the user when the audio device is pocketed or strapped in place causes the cord to intermittently contact the face or neck. Turning the head tightens one of the branch cords which can pull out one ear bud. Also the weight of the cord or catching of the cord in clothing or on external objects causes pulling against the connector jack or the audio device, which can cause both of the ear buds to become dislodged. This is disconcerting because it interrupts listening to the music or book as the audio device continues to run while the ear buds are being repositioned.
Another annoyance is that movement of the wires against the face or clothing can create noise or static which is heard in the ear buds along with the audio program, degrading the listening experience.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,974,432, issued Jul. 5, 2011 to Patrick T. Ryan discloses a baseball styled cap that retains an elasticized sleeve on the inside, front wall of the cap. A portable audio player or radio can be inserted into the sleeve and connected to a pre-installed wiring and speaker system that is integrated into the fabric seams of the cap. This unitary configuration allows the cap with audio system to be worn and used in comfort, with little or no limitation on the physical activity of the wearer. An audio device within an elasticized sleeve in the front of the cap above the brim is connected to the speaker system. Two ear buds hang from the opposite sides of the cap with no convenient means shown to store them when the audio device is not in use except to tuck them into the headband of the cap.
My aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 7,702,122 solved these problems as described briefly in its abstract, as follows: “A cap for listening to an audio device such as an MP3 player or iPod has a pocket in the back with a spring-loaded double-ended retractor for pulling a stereo jack to the front of the cap for connecting to an audio device, adjusting it and returning the retractor along with the audio device to the pocket. The stereo jack is connected to ear buds via wires leading from a T-shaped anchoring junction secured in the bottom of the pocket. The ear buds hang from opposite sides of the cap and are placed in bud pockets on the cap when not in use.”
In one version of the invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, along with the accompanying description in paragraphs 0036 and 0037 the wires from the anchoring junction to the ear buds pass through an aperture to the inside of the cap cover and along the headband to exit from opposed apertures below the headband, and then back to exterior ear bud pockets formed between the cap cover and a fabric member stitched thereto.
In another version of the invention, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 along with the accompanying description in paragraphs 0045 and 0046, a stretchable fabric member is stitched to the cap cover to provide a pocket for the audio device. Separate exterior bud pockets are sewn to the cap cover to receive ear buds exiting from apertures below the headband as before.
The foregoing patent constructions complicate the assembly and placement of the wires between the anchoring junction and the ear buds, since they require apertures through the cap cover to bring the ear buds from the outer side to the inner side and back out again with additional sewing around the apertures. Also, a greater length of wire is required and there is the possibility of interference between the wires and the headband, especially in the case of a stretchable headband. Since the wires are inside the cap cover, it is necessary to hide or cover them within the headband to prevent them from catching on objects.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a simplified headgear attachment for docking and listening to portable audio devices while wearing the headgear.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved construction for integrating an audio device carrying pocket with ear bud pockets beneath a single fabric member attached to the cover of headgear.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved construction for integrating an audio device carrying pocket communicating with ear bud pockets inside a laterally stretchable fabric member attached to a circumferentially stretchable headband on a cap.
A more specific object of the invention is to provide a laterally stretchable fabric member that may be attached to a circumferentially stretchable headband on a cap in a simplified construction to provide an audio device carrying pocket communicating with ear bud pockets.